The 3M Performance 400 is the first of two NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car races held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, the other being the GFS Marketplace 400.
On February 19, 2006, 3M Company announced that it had signed a three-year agreement for naming rights to the race, beginning with the 2006 season.
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile (3.22 km), moderate-banked, tri-oval superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than 1,200 acres (5 km²) near Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. It is used for NASCAR and high-level open wheel motor racing events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to California Speedway.
Michigan is now one of the fastest tracks in NASCAR due to its wide, sweeping corners and long straightaways; typical qualifying speeds are in excess of 190 mph and corner entry speeds easily exceed 200.
The track opened in 1968 and is owned by International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (to open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest to stock car standards).
From 1996 to 2000, the track was referred to as Michigan Speedway. This was to keep consistency with other tracks owned by Roger Penske's Motorsports International before its merger with ISC.
In addition to motor racing, the venue hosts the Michigan High School Athletic Association cross country finals for the Lower Peninsula.